An Italian court has sentenced Ukrainian soldier Vitaliy Markiv to 24 years in prison for involvement in the 2014 death of Italian freelance photographer Andrea Rocchelli during Russia’s war in Donbas, activists and media reported.
Markiv denies that he is guilty.
In 2014, Markiv served in the General Kulchitsky unit of the National Guard, which was made up of former activists of the EuroMaidan Revolution and sent to the eastern Donbas region to defend Ukraine in the first days of Russia’s aggression.
Rocchelli was killed in May 2014 on the outskirts of the city of Sloviansk — then the epicenter of the war — together with his interpreter, Russian human rights activists Andrey Mironov, during an exchange of fire between the two sides. French journalist William Roguelon, who was nearby during the firefight, was also wounded.
Markiv’s lawyer and friends claim that the national guardsmen, who are subordinate to the interior ministry, did not have any heavy weapons and, thus, could not be involved in the deaths of Rocchelli and Mironov.
Markiv was arrested on June 30, 2017 upon arrival in Italy, a country where he had lived for many years and even had citizenship.
Markiv was tried in the small city of Pavia, Rocchelli’s home town in northern Italy. Prosecutors allege that Markiv transmitted information about Rocchelli’s presence in the area to the Ukrainian military, thereby making the attack that killed the journalist possible. The prosecution asked the court to sentence Markiv to 17 years behind bars. Ultimately, the court issued an even harsher sentence.
When the judge announced the verdict on July 12, Markiv shouted, “Glory to Ukraine!” the Hromadske television channel reported.
Markiv’s lawyer called the sentence “absurd” and said he would appeal it.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on Twitter that the court decision was “unfair and shameful.”
“It’ll be appealed,” he added.
Human rights activist Olha Reshetylova wrote on Facebook that the court sentence is a reason to discuss the “safety of current and former Ukrainian soldiers in the world.”
Activists plan to picket the Italian Embassy in Kyiv with the slogan “Freedom for Vitaliy Markiv.”
